Africa Books

Since first reading this book, I have read all the other available titles by this author - especially "The Bronze Killer" (which featured two of the characters in this one), and "When you know that you know, that you know!" - and now, re-reading this one, I was able to enjoy it twice as much as before. I could also understand the writer's loyalty to South Africa, its Air Force, and especially 27 Squadron SAAF.

Although it is clearly fiction, and not meant to be studied as an historical treatise, it was well worth a second read.

I recommend it.

Our family certainly got its money's worth, as each in turn (having waited in line to read it) wanted to discuss it at the dinner table. Without exception, having fallen in love with Francois, they would raise the agonizing question: Why did he do that? Each came up with a different theory. My husband was led to read The Bronze Killer after reading this one. His review appears elsewhere.

From the time that I started to read "With No Remorse..." I could hardly put it down. The story of the devilish Stephanie just drew me from page to page and I could not wait to know what the outcome would be. One of my mother's dearest friends lost a Canadian Air Force son over Malta during the 1939-1945 war, so I was especially interested to learn how the islanders had also suffered during this war.

Among the many useful titles on women's liberation published by Pathfinder Press sits a gem of a pamphlet titled Women's Liberation and the African Freedom Struggle. It contains the full text of a speech given by Thomas Sankara, the revolutionary leader of the West African country Burkina Faso (formally Upper Volta) until his assassination in 1987.

Sankara gives his speech to thousands of Burkinabe women gathered to commemorate International Women's Day on March 8, 1987. His speech is bereft of the dogma and the rhetoric normally seen in capitalist politicians and is remarkably direct but sincere.

Sankara devotes a good portion of the speech detailing the specific challenges confronting African women in pursuit of their liberation on the continent. Based on a Marxist understanding of the development of class society he points to this fact as the origin of women's oppression.

Sankara puts the fight of Burkinabe women as part of the struggle for women's liberation world wide. A special strength of the speech is when Sankara stresses how the emancipation of women goes hand in hand with "the struggle for the rehabilitation of our continent".

For supporters of women's rights this pamphlet is a must read.

Sankara's speech isn't abstract rhethoric--what we used to call rapology int he days of the civil rights movement. It is practical leadership by a real revolutionist battling reaction, imperialism,and the weight of history, in a battle that he would give his life to. Listen to these words for what they say about the realities of the need to liberate women not just in Africa but throughout the World!


While this book may not be directly available from Amazon at times, they are available from the booksfrompathfinder on Amazon that you can find by clicking on the new and used books on this page.

These two issues strike at the heart of many struggles today. Sankara was the leader of a 1983 anti-imperialist revolution in the west African nation of Burkina Faso (known as Upper Volta in colonial times). He is unsparing in his condemnation of those who assert that traditional African values justify the isolation and oppression of women.

He calls on women to rise against the sexism of tribal, neo-colonial and capitalist eras that prevent their equal participation in society. He explains to male Burkinabe workers and peasants the necessity of this in order to fight for the liberation of their nation from colonialism and capitalism.

This is a children's book about the war in Sudan. Three young boys are trying to escape the attack by their village by Jangaweed, the Sudanese soldiers who terrorize the South Sudanese villages on horseback. They have to escape to another country but refugee camps are full and they have to choose correctly which way to run. A nice book to help children who have Sudanese student in their classrooms understand why they come here better. Also, the Sudanese students have books which they can identify with and stories that touch their lives. A good addition to any school library collection.

Alice Mead's novel Year of No Rain is excellent. It is well written, with just the right amount of suspense to drive the story along, and its didactic elements are rarely obtrusive. Yet teach it does--about the realities of life in Southern Sudan, about the Sudanese civil war, and (to a lesser extent) about the inherent senselessness of war. It successfully avoids the oversimplified understandings of the Sudanese civil war that are all too common in America. And even if the Sudanese civil war may now be drawing to an end (or may not be--there have been false hopes for its end before), the novel remains valuable for its portrayal of a war that is in many ways little different from many of Africa's other civil wars.

Stephen, a young Dinka, lives in a village with his mother and his elder sister, Naomi. His father has vanished, gone off to the war. Stephen's concerns are those of any older child in such a village: his family, the cows he tends and on which the village depends, and his sister's impending marriage.

As Mead's examination of daily life in Stephen's village continues through the first quarter of her novel, the echoes of the distant war build, until suddenly the village is raided by soldiers looking for food. Stephen and two other boys escape to the forest; his sister Naomi hides. The next day, Stephen and the other boys return to find the village destroyed, Stephen's mother dead, and Naomi vanished.

The remainder of the book tells the story of the boys' wanderings through forest, grassland, and swamp, at first heading for a refugee camp over the Ethiopian border, then returning home. Just enough happens to keep the plot going nicely without the book ever becoming tedious or monotonous. This is a real achievement of Mead's, since the boys' desperate journey is one of tedium, monotony, and incipient despair.

Finally, the boys return home to their village, where they find Naomi, who has escaped her captors and has also returned to the one place she can call home. The book ends on a hopeful but realistic note as the children start to try to re-establish life among the ruins.

Mead is to be congratulated not only on an excellent and atmospheric story, but also on the subtlety of her portrayal of Sudan's political and ethnic situation. She does not fall into the trap of seeing a simple struggle between Christian South and Muslim North, often told as a simple parable of good and evil. Mead's Northerners are shadowy and threatening, but her Southern soldiers are also threatening, though less shadowy. At first it is assumed that Stephen's village was raided by Northern troops; later, in a neat and very realistic twist, it turns out that the raiders were probably Southern rebels. The boys have to hide from Southern soldiers in a truck as well as from Northern soldiers in an airplane. The conflicts between different Southern tribes are as much a threat to the boys as thirst and disease. One Shilluk woman the boys meet is kind to the Dinka wanderers, but another Shilluk is indifferent. A Kenyan aid worker saves Stephen's life after he has caught malaria, but it is made clear that neither aid workers nor refugee camps are any real solution. The difficulties of life in the camps become clear to Stephen on his voyage of discovery, and it is in large part this realization that sends him and his friends back to their own village.

Stephen, like Mead's other characters, is almost entirely believable. He and his friends briefly consider revenge, or joining the rebels for the sake of food--an option Stephen rejects because he wants to be a teacher, not a soldier. Perhaps this ambition of Stephen's is a little too good to be true; perhaps it is not. We all need to have hope, and in Stephen, Mead gives us some cause for hope. Because of this, despite the immensely depressing nature of its subject, Mead's book is not in itself depressing.

Year of No Rain does not examine the geopolitical and socioeconomic causes of the civil war. Given the perspectives of her characters, this is not something that Mead could realistically do. Mead's book thereby raises an interesting question: which view of war is more real, the experts' and analysts' view that seeks to explain root causes, or the participants' view, that sees war as an inexplicable catastrophe?

Year of No Rain is strongly recommended for its target audience, and might well be suitable for older groups, too. Its readers will enjoy it, and--with suitable guidance--will have their understanding of complexity expanded, rather than having their assumption of simplicity reinforced.

(...)

Alice Mead's novel Year of No Rain is excellent. It is well written, with just the right amount of suspense to drive the story along, and its didactic elements are rarely obtrusive. Yet teach it does--about the realities of life in Southern Sudan, about the Sudanese civil war, and (to a lesser extent) about the inherent senselessness of war. It successfully avoids the oversimplified understandings of the Sudanese civil war that are all too common in America. And even if the Sudanese civil war may now be drawing to an end (or may not be--there have been false hopes for its end before), the novel remains valuable for its portrayal of a war that is in many ways little different from many of Africa's other civil wars.

Stephen, a young Dinka, lives in a village with his mother and his elder sister, Naomi. His father has vanished, gone off to the war. Stephen's concerns are those of any older child in such a village: his family, the cows he tends and on which the village depends, and his sister's impending marriage.

As Mead's examination of daily life in Stephen's village continues through the first quarter of her novel, the echoes of the distant war build, until suddenly the village is raided by soldiers looking for food. Stephen and two other boys escape to the forest; his sister Naomi hides. The next day, Stephen and the other boys return to find the village destroyed, Stephen's mother dead, and Naomi vanished.

The remainder of the book tells the story of the boys' wanderings through forest, grassland, and swamp, at first heading for a refugee camp over the Ethiopian border, then returning home. Just enough happens to keep the plot going nicely without the book ever becoming tedious or monotonous. This is a real achievement of Mead's, since the boys' desperate journey is one of tedium, monotony, and incipient despair.

Finally, the boys return home to their village, where they find Naomi, who has escaped her captors and has also returned to the one place she can call home. The book ends on a hopeful but realistic note as the children start to try to re-establish life among the ruins.

Mead is to be congratulated not only on an excellent and atmospheric story, but also on the subtlety of her portrayal of Sudan's political and ethnic situation. She does not fall into the trap of seeing a simple struggle between Christian South and Muslim North, often told as a simple parable of good and evil. Mead's Northerners are shadowy and threatening, but her Southern soldiers are also threatening, though less shadowy. At first it is assumed that Stephen's village was raided by Northern troops; later, in a neat and very realistic twist, it turns out that the raiders were probably Southern rebels. The boys have to hide from Southern soldiers in a truck as well as from Northern soldiers in an airplane. The conflicts between different Southern tribes are as much a threat to the boys as thirst and disease. One Shilluk woman the boys meet is kind to the Dinka wanderers, but another Shilluk is indifferent. A Kenyan aid worker saves Stephen's life after he has caught malaria, but it is made clear that neither aid workers nor refugee camps are any real solution. The difficulties of life in the camps become clear to Stephen on his voyage of discovery, and it is in large part this realization that sends him and his friends back to their own village.

Stephen, like Mead's other characters, is almost entirely believable. He and his friends briefly consider revenge, or joining the rebels for the sake of food--an option Stephen rejects because he wants to be a teacher, not a soldier. Perhaps this ambition of Stephen's is a little too good to be true; perhaps it is not. We all need to have hope, and in Stephen, Mead gives us some cause for hope. Because of this, despite the immensely depressing nature of its subject, Mead's book is not in itself depressing.

Year of No Rain does not examine the geopolitical and socioeconomic causes of the civil war. Given the perspectives of her characters, this is not something that Mead could realistically do. Mead's book thereby raises an interesting question: which view of war is more real, the experts' and analysts' view that seeks to explain root causes, or the participants' view, that sees war as an inexplicable catastrophe?

Year of No Rain is strongly recommended for its target audience, and might well be suitable for older groups, too. Its readers will enjoy it, and--with suitable guidance--will have their understanding of complexity expanded, rather than having their assumption of simplicity reinforced.

Reading about civil rights in America is tough, especially for kids these days. The events are remote, and the lack of activism in our country makes it hard to imagine what it was like 40 years ago. But this book...Wow! The characters' situations grab you, whether you are relating to the Zulu boy, South African (white) girl, or the dog. There are moments that will make you laugh, and other that we have you holding your breath for 10 pages. And of course, parts that will cause you to weep. The story is very well told, and spares the reader nothing in terms of the vitriol felt by racist So Africans. Highly recommended.

I bought this book after hearing an interview of the author on KNPR and thought it would be good to read with my lower level reading high school students. My students loved the book from beginning to end even though they were high school level. This year I read the book with a group of 7th graders, and boys and girls alike loved the book and many want to buy the book for theirselves. As an adult I enjoyed reading the book and would recommend it for any one who enjoys a good book.

"Zulu Dog" is a must read, not just for children aged 9-12, but for any adult who loves a good story, adeptly told, with memorable characters and compelling plot twists. The author of this wonderfully woven tale is going to be famous!

Blaut's "1492" is the quickest way to get "up to speed" on the issues of Eurocentrism and falsely reading history backwards. It thoughtfully and convincingly argues that Europe was no more advanced or likely to develop hegemony or capitalism in 1491 than many other areas. New World precious metals, extreme profitability of capital accumulation aided by depopulation from new diseases and Europe's weapons technology (terror and depopulation) was an accident of history resulting from relative ease of nautical proximity and conquest. The implications for rewriting and understanding world history, before 1492, and after are staggering and properly humbling for Eurocentric triumphalists claiming unique superiority from and for all times. Some 40% of the short book is critiques from other scholars two largely in support and two who differ. One may choose to read these or not. In any case there is an introduction to much of the key literature on the subject.It is a stumulating and thoughful work that should be familiar to anyone interested in European or World History.

Dr. James M. Blaut's book, 1492 - The Debate on Colonialism, Eurocenterism and History is a much-needed, thought-provoking addition to the analysis of world history. Blaut challenges the notion that the rest of the world was sleeping when Western Europe "burst forth" with technology, economic vigor and curiousity to explore and colonize other nations.

Instead, Blaut states that many countries and societies in Asia, Africa and some parts of the Americas were at the same socio-economic level as Western Europe prior to 1492. He also states that many of these countries were actively engaged in exploration and global trade relations.
He poses 3 profound questions: 1) Why did Western Europe embark on its campaign of conquest and exploitation of Africa, Asia and the Americas at the time that it did? 2) Why did Western Europe choose to conquer these other societies rather than simply establish equal trade relations as was done by other countries? 3) What global situation was Western Europe responding to that led to the political decision to conquer other nations?

The slim volume not only provides Dr. Blaut's views but it includes perspectives from 5 other global historians and takes the form of a rich debate. Blaut's book has two omissions that could enrich this analysis. First, there is ample historical evidence that several West African nations such as Mali had active trade relations with the Americas as early as the 11th century. This fact can help fortify the point that many countires were at the same or higher socio-economic level as Western Europe.

Second, the role of the medieval Islamic empire is a critical element in the global geo-political and economic trends. It is my suspicion that the competitive pressure on Western Europe that engendered the Crusades, was also a major factor in Western Europe's decision to become a world conqueror rather than a world trader. This factor is yet to be explored.

For all truth seekers and persons with non-Western European roots, this book provides important validation for the significance of the rest of the world in the rise of capitalism and the modern era.

I eagerly await the next level of debate on this view of the New World and the New World View.

In 1924, two years after the famous discovery of King Tut's tomb with its amazing treasures, Dr. George Reisner, a world-famous Egyptologist, is exploring an archaeological site known as Giza 7000X. Joining the dig is young Will Hunt. The conceit here is that while Will and his family are fictitious, the rest of the information about Giza 7000X is true. Reisner was the director of the Harvard University/Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and everything you see in "The 5,000-Year-Old Puzzle: Solving a Mystery of Ancient Egypt" is based on the actual records of a history-making dig (diaries, object registers, photographs, and drawings) of the his expedition. Author Claudia Logan, a former museum educator and teacher, made this book with the cooperation of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

We follow Will's adventures through his journal entries and postcards back home to his friend Sam, another member of the King Tut Club. Artist Melissa Sweet's illustrations, created in acrylic and watercolor, consist of luminous paintings of the pyramids and inventive collages of authentic documents and artifacts. Throughout the book there are sidebars providing information on ancient Egypt regarding the layout of the Great Royal Cemetery at Giza, cartouches, and hieroglyphs, as well as explaining the tools and tricks of the archeological trade. From pouring over "The 5,000-Year-Old Puzzle" young readers will come to appreciate the process by which archeologists unearth the past. Logan and Sweet also provide a sense of the time involved; Will saves a postcard telling about all the digging he has to do and there is a point where everyone sits around and waits for four months Dr. Reisner to return so they finally open the alabaster sarcophagus that has been found.

Even more impressive is the revelation that the puzzle of this title is one still waiting to be solved. Consequently, after suffering with Will through the tedious and painstaking tasks that are involved in discovering and opening an Egyptian tomb, young readers get to exercise their minds as well to come up with an explanation that fits the eight clues revealed through the book (do not worry; they are listed at the end to help). Dr. Reisner and a modern archeologist offer their own explanations, but the key thing here is that no one knows for sure. Whether teachers find a way of using this book for a class discussion or assign a bright student to do a report on it for class, "The 5,000-Year-Old Puzzle" is a great opportunity for challenging young minds to make their own judgments about each clue and come up with their own conclusions about "what really happened." The rests of us can hazard our own guesses as well.

In 1924, Dr George Reisner led an expedition to Egypt to explore the archaeological site, Giza 7000X. There, he and his team discovered a secret underground tomb belonging to Queen Hetep-heres, the mother of King Khufu who built the Great Pyramid. The tomb was carefully opened and painstakingly examined, but the contents yielded many questions and mysteries as to what happened to the queen, how she lived and died. Join fictional character, Will Hunt, as he and his family travel with Dr Reisner and participate in this amazing expedition and discovery, and maybe you can help solve the 5000-year-old puzzle..... Author, Claudia Logan, and illustrator, Melissa Sweet, have joined forces to create a fascinating and inspiring book filled with history, drama, archeaology, fun facts, trivia, anecdotes, and much, much more. Ms Logan's engaging text, told in Will Hunt's easy to read, diary entries, pulls the reader into the story and sends him/her back in time to a faraway and mysterious place, for the adventure of a lifetime. Ms Sweet's bold, busy, and captivating arwork includes original paintings combined with postcards, cartoons, collages, ancient artifacts, photographs, newspaper clippings, documents, and informational sidebars. Young and old alike will enjoy poring over and exploring the illustrations, and finding something new and exciting with each page turn. Perfect for youngsters 8-12, The 5000-Year-Old Puzzle is a creative and inventive archaeology lesson, presented in an innovative and entertaining format. So come join the expedition. The secrets of Giza 7000X are waiting to be discovered

With "Abolitionists Abroad," Lamin Sanneh has produced another great piece of scholarship, one of the best books on West Africa ever written. Sanneh examines antislavery not as an intellectual exercise by Western elites but as a movement of former slaves and former captives who went to West Africa to fight slavery and the slave trade. Crucial to Sanneh's book is the concept of "antistructure," which is the framework used by Sanneh to signal the opposition to chieftain authority structures that became the foundation of antislavery in Sierra Leone. These former slaves and former captives sought to undermine the chieftain values of birth, rank, and patronage and replace them with enlightened values--informed by American Christianity and republicanism--such as freedom and inclusiveness. The proliferation of evangelical Christianity taught ex-slaves the idea that everyone is equal in God's eyes, and these blacks soon began to find its "earthly counterpart in liberty without prejudice." Former American slaves and recaptives alike insisted on equal rights under the law, and opposed official British attempts to meddle with their religious practices. They found prosperity in the growth of legitimate trading enterprises, which served as an alternative model to the economic system of the chiefs, which was closely tied to the slave trade. The final result was the creation of a new kind of society in which chiefly authority was contested, Christanity was tranformed, and former slaves were able to use their "second chance" to pursue dignified and productive lives.

I have now read more than 5 of Lamin Sanneh's books and many of his published article's. Being a student of his at Yale, I was fortunate enough to learn side by side with a legend in the field of African history. Abolitionists Abroad is one that everyone must read. Sanneh writes in a clear and easy to comprehend manner that every book lover will appreciate. I highly recommend this book and others written by Lamin Sanneh including Translating the message and West African Christianity. I was fortunate enough to learn in the classroom with this brilliant mind, here is your chance to learn in your home. Five stars.

This is definitely a humorous , visual rendition of the tales of abunuwasi. I recommend it to anyone interested in African folk tales or specifically Kiswahili culture and folklore. I hope there will be more versions of Abunuwasi .

I grew up reading the "adventures of Abu Nuwasi" and the "Picha-HADITHI" caricature series. Definitely worth a read!

I agree with the previous review that this book was similar to the Magic Treehouse series, but I think this book was even better than those. My six year old daughter and I loved this book. We planned on splitting it up over two nights of reading, but got so involved in the story that we read the whole book in one sitting! Super imformative and the story was woven well into the Ancient Egypt facts!! We read this as part of a homeschool lesson, but any kid who is interested in Ancient Egypt would be thrilled with this story!

I got this book along with several others for my first grader. We homeschool and are studying Ancient Egypt. We loved this book! This was by far my son's favorite. It is easy to find "photos and facts" types of book on Egypt, but this one adds a bit of fiction and adventure to the mix. It is kind of like the Magic Tree House books, but in a picture book format. The book is an adventure story with factual information listed at the bottom of each page (I guess sort of like Magic School Bus type books too). I will definitely be checking out the others in this series.

The book comprises 250 photos in black and white, with very good qualit of printed . Most unusual , and full page.
If you want to know about Sebastião Salgado , this is a excellent book. Highly recommended. One of the best books of the photographer .Africa

Un excelente libro de un fotógrafo excepcional. El continente captado en todo su esplendor y miseria por un ojo privilegiado. Una compra obligada.